ONE year ago today the General Election was held and the as the results came in they revealed that the ‘red wall’ had fallen which included the Barrow.
Simon Fell, then Conservative candidate for the third time, had succeeded which came as a shock to many including himself.
“I had knocked the majority down with my last two attempts,” Mr Fell said.
“As soon as I started to knock on doors it was clear people were frustrated.
“Not just with Brexit, but with their attitude toward Jeremy Corbyn.
“We said we would stand up for British values and because Mr Corbyn ran his campaign out of London’s Islington I think it was a difficult sell for the public in the area.
“It was still a surprise to me when I won, when you do this you can’t take anything for granted.
“But I didn’t think I would have got anywhere near the majority we got. It was absolutely incredible though, it knocked me off my seat!”
Mr Fell was heavily backed by the major powers in the Tory party with Home Secretary Priti Patel visiting Barrow in the lead up to the election.
The Barrow and Furness constituency was one of many Labour seats in the North-West to go, and one of the key cogs from that team has reflected on the election one year on.
South Walney Labour councillor Frank Cassidy was at the office coal-face as the race entered its final straight.
He said: “We had a good candidate in Barrow born-and-bred Chris Altree who grew up on a local housing estate and had a firm grasp of all the issues that were at play.
“We had loads of eye-catching and fully-costed manifesto pledges that were designed to help ordinary families and make things better for poorer people.
“We had a strong media and campaign squad along with dozens of committed activists who would think nothing of door-knocking in the rain for a few hours before changing into dry clothes and heading straight out again.
“That's one thing I do remember more than anything – the rain.
“Ten-hour days were not uncommon and gallons of coffee was consumed by everyone – apart from me who sipped Earl Grey tea with two sugars and loads of milk.
“Volunteers arrived – quite unexpectedly – from places like Liverpool and Belfast.
"On the Tuesday before the election we even RMT activists who worked for London Underground coming to lend a hand.
“One was dark-haired, only quite young and I didn't catch his name, but I can still see him now – in full London Underground uniform – banging on doors for us in West View Road.
“The Mail and local radio journalists gave everyone a pretty fair shake, but the national media – which is largely controlled by right-wing millionaires – played its usual role in being extremely hostile to Labour.
“We also had to grapple with the fib that if Jeremy Corbyn won the election it would decimate jobs at the Shipyard.
“It wasn't true – Labour shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith came here to tell everyone it wasn't true – but it was an effective piece of Conservative propaganda and it did cut through on the doorstep.
“Brexit was also a big factor. Boris Johnson had pledged to get it done and that was popular with some voters.
“It remains to be seen whether an impending no-deal Brexit will be cheered from the rooftops when people are faced with lower wages, higher prices in the shops, massive queues at British ports and chlorinated American chicken for Sunday dinner.
“Looking back we couldn't really have worked any harder than we did and our consciences are clear in that regard. It's also probably worth saying that relations between local Labour party footsoldiers and our Conservative opponents were reasonably cordial.
“It was a political scrap, but a fair one – it's the sea in which we swim and in this game you have to take the rough with the smooth. Many of us shook hands at the end.
“But we learned a lot from the weeks leading up to that general election and we will be putting the things we learned into good use whenever the next one comes.
“Regardless of what the Tories say about levelling-up and making things fairer for ordinary people, their core instincts will pull them in the other direction and that won't go unnoticed.
“The Conservatives will also lose support when it becomes clear who will actually foot the bill for their mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis and you can bet your bottom dollar it won't be the rich.”
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